How do you feel about having other nurses as patients?

verene, MSN · Dec 10, 2016

I also feel a little nervous when taking care of RNs - I think as you've identified it is the pressure to reach for perfection. As I'm still a student I feel the pressure to do things correctly and take good care of my patients already. The fact that these nurses are frequently employees of the teaching hospital where I do clinicals (and thus actually know their way around better than me!) makes it a little extra.

That being said most of my nurse or NP patients have actually been great patients to care for. One even tried to talk me into joining her specialty when I graduate - which was kind of cool.

macawake, MSN · Dec 10, 2016

When I see RN after a patient's name, it almost makes me intimidated, even though I'm an RN myself.
Does anyone else have this issue?

I can't say that I do. For about the first year or so after graduation I would often feel a bit nervous /self-conscious around nurse and physician patients, but that feeling has gone away as I've gained experience and confidence in my abilities as a nurse. These days I'm comfortable with the vast majority of my patients and the few that I'm uneasy around don't share a common profession. Whatever it is with those patients that make me react/feel differently has more to do with their personalities or values than their occupation.

Actually I find that most of my nurse and physician patients have more realistic expectations than many other patients do, so I usually find it relatively easy to care for them. One thing that I have noticed though is that some find the loss of control /role reversal challenging as they are more accustomed to being at the other side of the "bedrail". I consider being able to make them feel comfortable despite this; rewarding.

loriangel14, RN · Dec 10, 2016

I've had RN coworkers as a patient. It was fine. It was nice to not have to explain stuff to them .

sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN · Dec 10, 2016

I actually enjoy, sorta along the theme of "giving back"...

never had any awkwardness......one was a Dean of local Univ. BSN program....we shared

differences in my diploma program.....decades ago......she actually wish Univ. BSN offered a little more clinical....

lovely lady

allnurses Guide · Dec 10, 2016

I tend to talk shop with them.

Considering many of the nurses who had to care for me were former students of mine,,,,,, they all told me they were a bit nervous about doing my assessments, since that was the class I taught. :whistling:

Palliative Care, DNP · Dec 10, 2016

No, I can't say that it would bother me to care for a nurse. In my experience however, most nurses do not announce that they are nurses. I certainly haven't when I have had procedures/surgery. I would rather not make others nervous and be able to evaluate the care I receive objectively.

SchoolNurse0975 · Dec 10, 2016

I feel like we could connect on a very understanding therapeutic level.

sevensonnets · Dec 10, 2016

I've taken care of many nurses over the years (and more than a few MDs). As long as you are confident in your skills there's no reason to treat them any differently than any other patient.

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 10, 2016

I've had retired healthcare professionals of all walks as my patients. I don't really get that nervous about it since my patients spend the vast majority of their time with me under anesthesia. Now, the time my patient was one of our currently working surgeons, that was a bit awkward, but not because of my practice- it's because I don't normally work with my patients 12 weeks after I've been involved with their cardiac surgery.

TriciaJ, RN · Dec 11, 2016

I once had a nursing instructor for a patient; when I remarked that it was a bit intimidating she said there was no need. Then her nursing instructor friend arrived and insisted on doing her postop bath herself. They were actually quite fun to work with.

One time when I was a patient, the nurse starting my IV couldn't get it to run. Then she realized she'd left the tourniquet on. She said how embarrassed she was, but I told her I'd made hundreds of similar mistakes. It's the general public that expects infallibility.

Julius Seizure · Dec 11, 2016

I've never had a problem with a nurse being the parent of one of my patients (I work in pediatrics). I DID have a difficult time once when the parent of my patient was an adult surgeon at the adjoining hospital. He basically refused to speak to the nurse about anything beyond when the next dose of tylenol was due and when the doctor would be rounding. Actually, he barely looked up when the nurse would walk in the room and greet him.

He also asked the attending physician if there was a special parking lot for the doctors that was closer than the visitor lot, and if you needed a badge to access it.

He also went behind the nursing station and started digging through files and papers, trying to find a blank sheet of paper and a pen so he could try to draw a diagram of his child's surgical repair (which he ended up drawing wrong).

He also tried to use the computer station in the patients room to chart on his patients, despite the nurse kind of NEEDING that computer, you know, to do their own work.

Most frustrating of all, the attending physician catered to him and would give him test results without also sharing them with the bedside nurse (before the computer report would come up), so the nurse ended up looking clueless through no fault of their own.